Students explore future careers at interactive expo

Eighth-grade students in Charlotte County explored future career possibilities at an interactive expo on Tuesday.

Approximately 1,300 eighth graders attended the event at the Charlotte Harbor Event Center.

Local fire departments, the elections office, and the WINK News team were among those showcasing potential job opportunities for the students.

Jaxson, an eighth grader at Punta Gorda Middle School, expressed his excitement about the variety of careers available.

"It's been really cool," he said. "There's so much that I can like do, but I'm it's like, kind of hard to pick with one of them."

Evyn and Rose, also 8th graders at Punta Gorda Middle, found the event informative for their future educational plans.

"I actually went to the FSW table," said Rose. "They talked about teaching and, like, they talked about ways I can get better college credits for the future, for teaching."

"I went to some psychology tables and saw some people that have helped kids and some dogs that help kids, like service animals," added Evyn. "And it's very cool to see like, what they do for the community."

The event ran from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., providing students with a comprehensive look at various career paths.